Both the Provincial and Supreme Courts in BC have suspended services barring emergency matters in reaction to the public health emergency resulting from the spread of Coronavirus. These actions are unprecedented in the history of the province. For family law clients the only services available are protection orders and those related to the health and safety of a child or family. In order to have an emergency matter heard in either court an application is made to a judge to determine the level of urgency and if the threshold is met the main application is set for a remote hearing.
In the Provincial Court matters set for dates prior to May 16, 2020, have been adjourned to specific dates in the future in order to then set future hearing dates. All new filings in family law matters have been suspended. The back log when the public health emergency ends will be immense.
In the Supreme Court all matters set to commence prior to May 1, 2020, have been adjourned generally without future dates. The process for setting future dates remains unknown, however, again the back log will affect the court for months if not years. The Supreme Court has also suspended all family law limitation periods until May 1, 2020.
For updates check the respective court websites:
https://www.bccourts.ca/supreme_court
https://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca
Please stay safe and healthy.